cracked down; cracking down; cracks down
: to take positive regulatory or disciplinary action
Synonyms
Examples of crackdown in a Sentence
Noun
Companies that pollute are the target of a new crackdown.
Verb
a repressive government that cracked down on political demonstrations
Recent Examples on the Web
Anika Seth, Washington Post, 26 June 2024
Like those fascist leaders, Trump is promising conflict — from a vast immigration crackdown to vowing retribution against his political enemies.
—Alan Green / Made By History, TIME, 25 June 2024
Nick Sullivan, The Arizona Republic, 14 June 2024
But China’s digital shopping boom came to an end in 2021 when the local authorities began to crack down on the tech sector.
—Tianwei Zhang, WWD, 13 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for crackdown 
Noun
Raisi oversaw a security crackdown during which more than 500 people were killed, according to a tally from the nongovernmental organization Iran Human Rights.
—Anika Seth, Washington Post, 26 June 2024
Like those fascist leaders, Trump is promising conflict — from a vast immigration crackdown to vowing retribution against his political enemies.
—Alan Green / Made By History, TIME, 25 June 2024
Verb
Officers violate First Amendment rights in daily encounters A review of protests between 2017 and 2022 found that Phoenix police repeatedly cracked down on peaceful demonstrations protected under the First Amendment.
—Nick Sullivan, The Arizona Republic, 14 June 2024
But China’s digital shopping boom came to an end in 2021 when the local authorities began to crack down on the tech sector.
—Tianwei Zhang, WWD, 13 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for crackdown
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crackdown.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near crackdown
Cite this Entry
“Crackdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crackdown. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share